steinhart



UNTED S'EATES PATENT GFFCE,

F. STEINHART, OF DANSVILLE, NEW YORK.

sPRING CARY-COUPLING.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 23,798, dated April 26, 1859.

To aZ 'who'm it may conce'r'n: u Be it known that I, FRANK STEINI-un'r,of Dansville, county of Livingston, and State of New York, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Car-Couplings, of which thefollowingl is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings, forming partof this specification, inwhich- Figure l represents a plan of coupling embracing my improvement,and Fig. 2 represents a plan of the under side of the coupling which isconnected with the car.

ll/Iy improvements in car couplings relate to spring aws and selfconnecting coup'lings,

in which the spring jaws form one part of the coupling and a spearheaded or wedge shaped bolt, the other part. In these couplings, asheretofore constructed, the spring jaws are generally inclosed in acoupling box, the end of which forms the buffer to the cars, and thepoints of the jaws instead of meeting close upon are kept apart by theshank of the bolt. From the necessity of inclosing these jaws in acoupling box to form the buffer, the weight and eXpense of the couplingis very much increased and from the shank of the bolt entering betweenthe jaws, the strain is thrown on the point of the jaws which is theweakest part, and in passing round sharp curves one jaw is thrown backby the shank of the bolt which renders the cars, on that account liableto uncouple:

To overcome these obj ections in the spring couplings is the principalobject of my improvements; and my invention for effecting these objectsconsists, first, in arranging between the jaws of the spring clutchradial fenders or guides which are connected with the front end of thedraw bar form a support to the aws of the clutch-act as guides to thebolt in entering the jaws and prevent the back of the bolt fromcat-ching the points of the jaws as it is withdrawn or uncoupled.Second, contsructing the head' of the bolt with an open and recessedback, so that theA jaws of -t-he nipper coupling may close around thebolt head and meet each other on j the back of the bolt while at thesame time the bearing of the bolt head will be back of the joint betweenthe jaws.

In the accompanying drawings a car coupling with my improvements isrepresented. This consists of two principal parts,

a wedge shaped bolt (A,) forming the head of a draw bar (O) attachedttoone end of the car, and a pair of spring jaws or nippers (B) attachedand forming the head of the draw bar (D) on the opposite end of the car.

The shank of the nippers is pivoted to a cross piece (a) on the drawbar, and the jaws (c) curve around and meet in front of the draw barwhich extends forward between the projections (d) on the rear of thejaws that act as stops to prevent the end of the jaws from beingbattered in closing, and also prevent either jaw from passing the centerline of the bar.

Two guide plates (e) with notches in their ends radiate from the drawbar, and through these notches the jaws of the nipples play, theysupporting the jaws and preventing them from twisting while at the sametime they act as guides to the bolt preventing it from striking theinside of the j aws as it enters the nipples and guiding it to thecenter of the draw bar which forms a buffer to receive the shock of thecars. On

opening the nipples to uncouple the cars,-

these guide plates (e) also preventthe corner of the bolt from catchingthe points of the jaws, as they recede back of the face of the plate andleave an even surface.

rfhe jaws of the nippers are closed by Springs (8) attached to the shankand are opened to release the bolt by a cam (g) operated by a handle Thebolt consists of a wedge shaped head (h) connected with the draw bar (c)at the top and bottom by the shanks which leave an opening between theback of the bolt head and the draw bar so that the points of the nipperscome together when the cars are coupled, meeting each other on the backof the bolt head, by which arrangement the bolt head is free between thejaws, so that it may turn or move laterally in the aws' without tendingto force them open,-as is the case when the shank of the bolt passesbetween the jaws, keeping them apart.

In the back of the bolt head is a recess (e') opposite the joint betweenthe jaws when the bolt head is within the nippers by which means thebearing of the bolt head in the jaws is on the sides of the joint and atthe points of the jaws curve slightly inward, the draft on the bolttends to hold thejaws closed.

The rear end of both draw bars are bolted to the fioorng timbers of thecar and sustained beneath the end timber by a bracket (m) which issufliciently Wide around the nippers to allow them to slightly Vibratelaterally so that When the cars come together and the bolt is notdirectly opposite the center of the nippel's they will be deflected bythe bolt and brought into line and the bolt pass between the jaws andcouple the cars.

The great depth given to the bolt head insures the coupling of the earsWhen the plat-W forms stand at different levels.

Having thus deseribed my improvements in car couplings, What I claimtherein as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1s- 1. rl`hecombination of the i'adial feuders 01' their equivalent arranged asdescribed With the jaws of the nippers for the pm'- pose set forth. i

2. Constructing the bolt head With an open back and also With alongitudinal re'- eess in its back foi` the Purpose described.

In testimony Whereof l have subseribed my name.

FRANK STEINHART.

Wvitnesses

